


Habits of the Heart

by Knutsacc_Jones



Series: Original Work x MHA shenanigans [1]
Category: Original Work, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: And a good mom, Diary/Journal, Every one is a pro hero, F/M, He's also best older brother tm, Holocaust-esque atmosphere, I compulsively started writing this instead of updating my actual original work, Kazumi is ray of sunshine, Leo is in the military, Leo my SON, M/M, Midoriya Izuku is a Ray of Sunshine, Not kacchako centric, The first part is basically just angst and trauma, Uraraka Ochako is a Good Friend, but the second is happiness and tooth rotting family fluff, everyone is a ray of fucking sunshine tbh, still plays a huge part tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:35:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23578516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Knutsacc_Jones/pseuds/Knutsacc_Jones
Summary: Katsuki had always wondered why his wife devoted herself to a boy that had seemingly emerged from nowhere. After he'd been rescued in the aftermath of a laboratory's destruction, Ochako had dropped near everything, from work to her own personal time, just to help this child. The boy had resided in their home for no more than three months, shaking like a leaf the very few interactions Katsuki ever had with him. He was silent, only speaking when spoken to and almost invisible.When they saw the boy off at the airport, Ochako had clung to him, sobbing. He had never seen her weep for another like that. Not even their own children.Why?
Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki/Uraraka Ochako, Leo Monozuki | EV-037 & Bakugo Katsuki, Leo Monozuki | EV-037 & Uraraka Ochako, Leo Monozuki | EV-037 & original female character, Leo Monozuki | EV-037 & original male character, Midoriya Izuku & Bakugo Katsuki, Midoriya Izuku & Uraraka Ochako
Series: Original Work x MHA shenanigans [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697248
Kudos: 8





	1. Diary of a Snow-White Boy

**Author's Note:**

> holy ravioli my first kacchako fic! I apologize if the characters are too OOC 
> 
> Also, trigger warnings for torture, themes of slavery, experimentation, and violence. Leo's backstory is a wild fuckin ride

As the running shower water beat into the crevices of his back, numbing the outer layer of skin, Katsuki’s gaze bore into the utterly destroyed condition of their glass shower door. It was but a hollow metal frame, a gap for the vapor of scalding hot water to escape into the bathroom, condensation settling on an equally fractured mirror. The boy was a disaster for their appliances; he’d broken at least one object in every room during his stay. 

While he’d offer any service to compensate for his accidents, as Ochako brushed them off as, but Katsuki just wanted that boy out of the house. This was a stark contrast to Ochako’s sentiments of his departure; he’d left for America three days prior and she was still in a state of glooming sadness. As Katsuki retreated from the quiet domain of the shower, fitting himself in a comfortable pair of sweatpants, his wife had been curled in their bed while clutching their youngest son, Kazumi, close. 

“You okay?,” he asked, his gruff voice laced with an underlying tiredness. Ochako shifted away from Kazumi, who was fast asleep.

“If I’m being honest, not really,” she sniffled. “I’m really worried about Leo.”

“Oh. The kid again,” he mumbled subconsciously. Ochako shot him a questioning look.

“Yeah I just don’t know if he’s going to be okay...I mean its a whole new country out there and he wasn’t even used to being here with us.”

He thought back to the boy. How he had shaken like a leaf before his very presence; Did not speak unless spoken to; and did not push forth any interaction. He would remain in his place, still as a statue, unless someone required something of him.

“Eh, who knows,” he said dryly. He threw himself onto the mattress, the back of his head cradled in his hands as he lay down. “He was freaking the fuck out when he was here, so I doubt that he’s gonna be any better over there.”

Ochako stared up at the ceiling, a fond smile stretching at her lips, “I think he’ll be okay though. It’ll just take time.”

Katsuki nodded absentmindedly, taking Ochako’s hand in his, caressing her outer thumb. They lay together in silence as she carded her fingers through Kazumi’s hair. He knew that something was on her mind, likely the ‘Leo thing’, so he bit his tongue. Katsuki felt the preluding exhaustion from earlier in the day crash onto his body as he drifted off to sleep.

“Hey, Katsuki,” Ochako began, almost hesitant. This was an abrupt awakening to his delirious state, and he would much rather go to sleep, but he offered her his ear. 

“I...I’m taking a week off of work. So you don’t have to worry about picking up the kids and stuff.”

At ‘I want to take a week’, Katsuki shot up from the bed, “ _What?_ ”

“What do you mean ‘what’--I’m taking a week off. I’m not sick or anything; I just need...a week, ya know?” She said, lowering Kazumi from her shoulder as she sat up to face him.

“Is this about the thing with the kid?” he pressed. Ochako’s silence afterward spoke for her.

“A little bit. I just thought that--”

“What the hell is with this kid?! Seriously. You bring him in out of fucking nowhere and you dropped _everything_ for him. That brat did fucking nothing. He shattered the goddamn mirror and the shower--hell I think he broke one thing in every fucking room of the house; and then he just up and leaves. Why the fuck does that cause you to get a week off?” His voice had been a firm impact to Ochako, as her expression had gone slack.

Or so he had thought.

Pulling her lips into the best snarl she could muster, brows furrowed together and her nimble fingers gripping the bed sheets, Ochako looked as if she was ready to tear him apart.

“You have NO idea what that boy went through. NOT at all. I’m taking the week off to spend with my CHILDREN, because after Leo came, I realized how much we really leave them alone. He NEEDED that attention because he doesn’t know how to function in normal society. I had to teach him--” she took a hitching breath as tears of frustration rolled down her cheeks, “--It sounds like to me you’re just being a jealous, stuck up asshole.”

“I’m not fucking jealous Ocha--” he began, but she interjected him

“We wouldn’t be arguing if you weren’t!” 

“We also wouldn’t be having this fucking conversation if you just left him at the hospital,” he snapped back. At that, the fury in Ochako’s eyes had reached unforeseen heights as she violently yanked open the drawer of her nightstand. She pulled out a clearly aged leather notebook with frayed edges and stains from an unknown substance in the bottom corner. She threw the book at him, square in the chest, as she rose from the bed.

“I read that, and THEN talk to me about Leo,” she seethed, storming out of their bedroom and into Sayuri’s across the hall.

Katsuki picked the journal up from between his legs, scrutinizing it, before tossing it on the foot of the bed and falling asleep.

Ochako had been _very_ terse with him the next morning. She hadn’t looked him in the eye, nor did speak to him unless absolutely necessary. Their breakfast was a painfully quiet one, mostly with quizzical looks being passed between Sayuri and Hideki. It was assuring to know that Ochako hadn’t vented to either of them, as he probably would have been open to the earful of a lifetime.

Without a word, Katsuki had strode out the door and was on his way to the train station

\------------------

Despite his valiant (read: extremely petty) efforts of defying Ochako’s insistence of reading the notebook. It had been a crushing weight in his bag, a subconscious pull on his shoulder made it seem as if the book were its worth in metal. It sat there, safely tucked under the various assortment of case files. Watching. Waiting. Begging for a read.

Through the majority of the day, Katsuki supplemented extra work to avoid reading the journal, telling himself that those files needed to be looked at. In due fairness, those files _did_ need to be reviewed, but the subject matter within them was so trivial that he would be much better off handing them to someone else.

Now, here he was, sat alone in his office. The ambience had settled stiffly in the confines of his workplace. His patrol would not be for another three hours, all of his case files were completely reviewed and signed off, and he’d eaten. Before him was his bag, open, with the leather notebook staring back at him. Slowly, Katsuki inched his fingers towards it, his grip loose and hesitant as he set the notebook atop the wooden desk. 

He unwound the leather sash that kept the pages of the notebook together and peeled apart the cover to reveal a blank page that read: **_Diary of EV-037_ **

‘ _EV-037?’_ Katsuki queried himself. On closer inspection, he noticed that the numbers 037 looked similar to ‘Leo’ when flipped upside down and mirrored. ‘So that’s where the kid got his name’. Though that answer only brought more questions to the surface. What was his real name? Did he ever have one? Katsuki, in his sudden intrigue, flipped to the first page. To his surprise, it was written in english.

**_09/16/40_ **

_I was gifted this note book by a villain. He told me to write my thoughts and feelings down. But I_ ~~ _do not_~~ _am not supposed to feel. That is what the doctor says. I still think I should do what that man told me though._

This boy had contact with villains, yet Ochako still sympathized with him. Why?

  
  


**_09/17/40_ **

_They fed me peaches today. They told me it was a sweet fruit that many people liked. I did not like it. I could not breathe after I ate it, and it was very painful. I hope they do not feed me again._

This child was concise yet vague with his words. He wrote just enough to get the message across, but they carried an underlying sense of ambiguity to them. But despite this, Katsuki found himself realizing the reasoning behind Leo’s refusal of anything but meat. Perhaps he was afraid that other foods would affect him negatively.

**_09/18/40_ **

_It was quiet today. The doctor did not come at all. That is strange because he usually sees me every day. Lucille has also not come down to the basement in a few days. I wonder if he is alright. I feel lonely without him._

**_09/19/40_ **

_I was left alone all day again. I wonder if they forgot about me. I do not want them to._

Those past few passages were indifferent, but Katsuki was utterly appalled, astonished--every synonym of surprised when he read the first sentence:

**_09/20/40_ **

_They fed me cherries for trying to break my chains. I only saw black. I only felt pain. The fruit was very sweet for the small time that I could taste it. If it did not hurt me, I would eat it every day._

‘They’ put him in chains. These entries dated back at least three years, so only lord knows how long he was bound.

**_09/21/40_ **

_Lucille returned today. He taught me more english. He also gave me books to read. One was filled with poetry, another was a novel, and the rest were nonfiction books. I read the poetry with him. My favourite poem was Ode to Nightingale. When Lucille left, he told me to hide the books in the ceiling so that the doctor does not see them._

**_09/22/40_ **

_I hid the books like he told me to.The doctor still never came today. Perhaps he is in his lab. They also put me to sleep today, so I did not do much today. I woke up with many small bruises on my arms. Maybe they took things from me for tests._

**_09/23/40_ **

_The doctor returned today. He looked very tired, like he had not slept in days. He was_ ~~_coffing_~~ _coughing a lot too. I am not sure why he hid behind the_ ~~_hankercheif_~~ _handkerchief. I could smell the blood from his breath. I was surprised when he only gave me a checkup today. I’m glad he did not have any other plans for me_

_‘Plans? The fuck does he mean by that?’_ Katsuki mused to himself. Overhearing the muddled footsteps from down the hall, he shut the book as they grew ever closer. They paused at his door, followed by a loud rapping against the wooden surface. Though the person behind the door never waited for his permission, and it swung open revealing Shitty-Hair, a toothy plastered on his face, in all his glory.

“Hey Baku-bro! Brought some coffee!” he beamed, waltzing into Katsuki’s office and plopping down a sealed disposable coffee cup on his desk, “black just like your soul.”

“Shut up Shitty-Hair,” Katsuki scoffed back, no bite to his tone. He nodded a quick thanks before removing the plastic cap to reveal the steaming aroma of his beverage. He chugged it down with great fervor, slamming the cup into the table like a hilt when he finished. Kirishima threw himself onto the chair before the desk, sprawling across it like a child as he sipped his coffee.

“You okay man? Today you were kind of out of it,” he said, straightening his posture. Katsuki flinched at his friend’s remark. So it _had_ been obvious.

“Yeah I..uh, had a fight with Ocha last night,” Katsuki relented, knowing full well that it would be futile to hide anything from him. Though, he hoped that Kirishima wouldn’t ask the context behind the fight, since The Kid had been an entirely private affair. Only Deku knew of him.

“You wanna talk about it?”

Katsuki considered his friend for a moment, thinking to The Kid and his book. He himself was still skeptical of the journal, and he didn’t want to bother explaining it; but conversely, he could get his frustration off his chest.

He kept quiet. “Nah, its okay. It wasn’t anything big. I guess that we don’t have ‘serious’ fights that often so it just hit me.”

Kirishima gave him a knowing nod, tossing his coffee cup into the garbage as he did before pulling out a game console from his bag and setting it between the two of them.

“Wanna play?”

A devilish grin spread across Katsuki’s features as he snatched a controller, opening _Smash Bros, “_ Hell yeah.”

“Prepare for the beating of a lifetime buddy,” Kirishima said, scooting his chair to share the screen with his friend.

“In your fuckin’ dreams Shitty-Hair.”

  
  


\-------------------------

The patrolling hour had approached far faster than Katsuki had anticipated. To his dismay, he was stuck with Deku, whose demeanor carried a nervousness more planative than usual. This, of course, warranted more irritation since he’d be a nervous wreck the entire time. They were debriefed to the inner Tokyo area, but strangely, they were told to stick together.

He’d also taken the journal with him. It was a subconscious action, but definitely a more welcoming outlet of entertainment instead of listening to Deku ramble about Icy-Hot’s “beautiful face” for another minute. He was _very_ tempted to remove his hearing aids, just to be an asshole, but he restrained himself, instead opting for his usual solution:

“Deku, for fuck’s sake, SHUT UP,” Katsuki snapped. “I’ve heard enough shit about you flipping your shit about Half’n’Half for one goddamn day. He gives you heart eyes every fucking day, so just go talk to him and spare my already fucked ears”

Deku flinched away from him, swallowing his words down. “Sorry.”

“Whatever,” Katsuki muttered, opening the leather journal. He felt Deku’s presence inch toward his shoulder and shut the book, transferring it to his other hand.

“What are you reading…?”

“None of your damn business.”

At that, Deku conceded, leaving Katsuki in his space as he reopened the journal and began to read.

**_09/24/40_ **

_I take back what I wrote yesterday. Tomorrow I am supposed to meet with a villain named Giseki. I was told to call him Black Drop._

Katsuki’s eyes widened, though he was sure to keep his subtlety. Black Drop, a wanted villain, was mentioned by name in The Kid’s journal--dating back three whole years even. This terrorist, who used the gooey, ink like structure of his quirk, to sneak into UA at one point was associated with Leo.

‘Just who the hell is this kid?’

**_09/25/40_ **

_I met with the villain today. His orders were to watch, and then kill a man named Togota._

Katsuki’s hear dropped to his shoes as he read that name. Togota. As in Mirio Togota; killed in the confines of his own home, his heart ripped from its cavity as he slumbered. It had _ruined_ Deku, and as much he was a pain in the ass, he was still his friend. 

**_09/26/40_ **

_I was given the file from Black Drop. The man is a teacher. His eyes are very kind, simple, yet pale. He also has a daughter, I think. They do not share a last name. She has white hair, similar to me. They were smiling together in the photo I had._

_I wish I had that sort of life, but I know that I am not meant to. My life is here, with the doctor, in this cold and dark room._

Katsuki eyed Deku, who carried himself nonchalantly, waving hello to various fans littered about the streets. He felt a pang in his heart, a writhing conflict on whether or not to say anything, but he kept quiet. This excerpt was very early on in the journal, and Ochako, who was also close to Mirio, had likely read the whole thing. Yet despite that, she cared for Leo all the same.

Katsuki kept reading.

**_09/27/40_ **

_Tonight is the night. I don’t want to do it. I’ve been_ _watching_ _waiting at his bedside for almost an hour. I see smiling photos of his friends and family. His daughter. But I cannot fail. If I do, I may be fed fruit or pricked or starved or whipped. I do not want that to happen._

There was a faded bloodstain at the bottom corner of the page of the pocket notebook, as if he had grabbed it again after the kill. In small writing, directly under the imprint of Leo’s thumb, it read:

_I am_ ~~_sorry_~~ _guilty. I took his heart. He said nothing when he died. He passed with a smile on his face, almost as if he were dreaming._

Katsuki let out a shuddered breath, struggling to regain his composure as he slipped the journal into the safe-pocket of his costume. Deku eyed him incredulously, noticing Katsuki’s change in attitude. 

“Are you okay Kacchan?” he asked. Katsuki just nodded, quickening his strides to outpace his friend for a moment to himself. 

\----------------

There was a ring at her phone, the vibrations of the device resonating through the glass table. Ochako opted not to pick it, focusing more on her study session with Hideki rather than tending to whoever required her.

“Mom, its Papa,” Sayuri said, handing her mother the phone. Ochako hadn’t even noticed it had stopped ringing.

“Hey! Sorry, I was studying with Hideki,” she greeted, smiling despite herself.

“Its fine, I just wanted to let you know I’m coming home late,” he said from the other end, his voice tired and raspy. 

“You okay?”

“Yeah I’m mostly okay, just getting patched up in the hospital before I go home.”

Ochako’s blood went cold. He always downplayed his injuries, so his condition was likely worse than he made it out to be. “What happened.”

“Deku and I got into contact with some villains. All of ‘em had guns and they grazed me with a couple shots. I didn’t actually get hit so you don’t need to worry--” he paused, exhaling onto the speaker, “--but the cuts are kinda deep, so i have to get em stitched.’

“Thank you,” Ochako said fondly, a smile tugging at her lips as she leaned back into the sofa, motioning Hideki to her lap. 

“Oh, so I get busted up and you wanna thank me?” he scoffed on the other line. Ochako shook her head.

“No silly. Thank you for being honest with me.”

Katsuki went silent and she heard the faint movement of paper. Was he reading the journal perhaps? She brushed off the thought, focusing on the conversation at hand.

“I’ll..uh, be home around ten,” he said finally, then with another pause, continued, “and I’m sorry for getting pissed yesterday.”

“Thank you for the apology, the kids were getting worried,” she said, flicking a comforting look at Sayuri, who visibly calmed. “But I still stand by what I said.”

“Right.”

“And hey..Read the whole thing, okay? You’ll know and understand things about him if you do.”

“M’kay,” he supplemented, then added with what could only be accompanied by a coy smile, “and tell the brats that I said hello, ‘kay?”

“When have I not?” she giggled, running her fingers though Hideki’s hair.

“Mom, don't touch my hair!” Hideki cried, shielding his head with his hands, “you’re being weird.”

“Hey! I spit you out of my no-no square, so you _will_ let me touch your hair!”

“ _MOOOOOOM,_ ” Hideki groaned, though his suffering was thoroughly enjoyed by his younger siblings who sniggered amongst themselves.

“Rhetorical question than I ain’t answering,” he responded.

“ _Of_ course.”

“Love you,” he croaked. An odd noise from him to be sure, but it was a layer of him that she cherished.

“Love you too,” she said, then put the phone on speaker and gesturing it to the children

“Love you Dad!” they exclaimed before all bidding their farewells. Ochako smiled dumbly at the screen, the reflection staring back at her with a loving gaze that only ever displayed for her family.

\----------------------

Katsuki tucked his cellphone in his pocket as a nagging, homesick sensation crept its way into his stomach. The stitches that bound his flesh--for lack of a better term--hurt like a bitch and all he wanted was to return home. Ochako’s suggestion on the notebook also ate at him.

_And hey..Read the whole thing, okay? You’ll know and understand things about him if you do._

He had ignored the notebook during patrol after what he’d read. The instant he put his fingers on that leather cover, he’d pictured the murder, the blood. What if Leo had killed him within his own home? What of his children? Ochako? 

At least The Kid had felt some trace of remorse; in fact when Katsuki finally opened the notebook, Leo had not written for three days.

**_09/30/40_ **

_I wish that I was the man in the bed._

Four days passed after that.

**_09/34/40_ **

_I regret leaving him in his bed. I wish I could have given the man a wax burial, maybe under a cherry tree. Perhaps he may find a life without people like myself._

_‘Wax burial?’_ Katsuki thought back to the time that Leo had accidentally killed Hideki’s hamster. He’d melted candle wax, pouring into a coconut with a crudely carved surface along with flowers that were meticulously picked from a botanical garden the boy had snuck into for. He’d placed the hamster inside, submerging it into the wax before hanging it in the branches of the tree, murmuring inaudible prayers as he bowed before it. A tradition perhaps? It was too unorthodox to be Japanese, however.

**_09/35/40_ **

_I read one of the nonfiction books Lucille gave me to take my mind off everything. It was about a city called Paris. Apparently, the tallest tower in the world is there. The book says that nobody has ever climbed to the top before. I want to go there and climb the tower. I want to see the lights._

Katsuki couldn’t help but pity the child. He didn’t know what the Eiffel tower was.

~~**_09/36_ **~~ **_10/06/40_ **

_Lucille came again today. I decided to tell him about my journal. He seemed glad that I was writing and that made me very happy. He also told me that I was getting the dates wrong, that it was supposed to be October. There are 31 days in October, and the last one is Halloween. He tells me that we should celebrate. I told him no, because the doctor would not want me doing such a thing. I wanted to, though._

Initially, Katsuki was confused by what the boy had meant, but sure enough, he had added five extra days to September. It seems that his passage of time was...altered to say the least.

**_10/07/40_ **

_Today the doctor took my blood. It was so much that I collapsed when I got to my bed. I am afraid of what he is doing._

**_10/08/40_ **

_I was given a new trainer today. Apparently the other one was arrested. This man is much taller than me and very bulky. He smiles too much and he seems a bit lustful. For fighting, at least. I start tomorrow._

**_10/09/40_ **

_This man is much different than my other teachers. He fights like he wants to kill me. He gets angry when I hesitate. I will try better tomorrow._

**_10/10/40_ **

_This man is a good fighter. He teaches me new things about quirks too. He told me about a man called All Might. He was the greatest hero who lived. Apparently._

The way Leo had phrased that made Katsuki’s teeth grind and his temper flare; All Might _was_ the greatest hero. Not even Shitty Deku could replace him.

**_10/11/40_ **

_The man tied a ball and chain to each of my feet today. The bruises hurt and sting. I cut myself against the metal too. Hopefully it doesn’t get infected, or else the doctor will be angry._

**_10/12/40_ **

_Today he bound my legs_

**_10/13/40_ **

_Today was my arms. I don’t think I will write often anymore. The training always leaves me tired like the dead._

The boy did not write for another seventeen days. 

**_10/30/40_ **

_It was an accident. I broke the ball and chain and the ball hit him in the face. I do not know if he was alive._

_They whipped me 26 times too. I still feel the sting in my back._

  
  


They whipped him. A child. 

In his discomfort, Katsuki stood up and left the clinic, pushing any picture of those thoughts out of the crevices of his mind. He preoccupied himself by counting the heads of umbrellas on that lugubriously rainy day as he trudged to the train home. 

His home carried an unusual foreboding darkness to it. As he stepped in the door, the ambience became apparent, especially at the shifting of his feet and creaking of the floorboards. He did not bother to shower, merely changing into a pair of sweatpants, He crawled into bed, Pulling al already asleep Ochako close to his chest as he struggled to slumber.


	2. Familial Guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OKay so bakugo is having a pretty rough day this chapter, like life decided to throw him the metaphorical hate dick.
> 
> 1\. quirkless daughter makes him question his parenting
> 
> 2\. Katsuki reads some fucked up shit in the notebook
> 
> 3\. interrogation shenanigans
> 
> 4\. HELLA angst. Katsuki be crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay life also decided to throw me the hate dick, so this is why angst is gonna be turned up to the MAX. also, I am TRASH for soft kacchan so he's gonna be WAYYYY ooc; and you know what, das fine.
> 
> anyway, I also decided to give a little perspective into Leo's brain. I want snippets of how he slowly changed over time and it'll be a sort of intro/conclusion to every chapter. These are especially fun to write!! 
> 
> I'm super sorry for getting this chapter out 3 days late... I was a dummy dum and wrote on Ao3 and I accidentally lost all my progress (;v ;)
> 
> Also the music I listened to was Sur le fil and Lacrimosa while writing this chapter. Sur le fil is ESPECIALLY good around Katsuki's angst section at the end of the chapter.
> 
> anyways, hope you enjoy!!

_Far off, across the sea_

He was seated in the back of a table filled room, a dark podium at the forefront by a blindingly white wall. Only the hum of the air conditioning could be heard in the empty confines of the room. Somehow it was able to carry such silence that drowned out any auditory sensation. That was until a flurry of hastened, loud footsteps could be heard from down the hall. Instinctively, he pulled his knees to his chest, hiding his lanky figure as the door flew right open. He’d been expecting some foreboding presence , or someone authoritative--like his trainer those long months ago-- with the way the wood had struck the wall.

He was surprised to find that it was a pair of teenagers, a boy and a girl, who scuffled about the doorway, fighting to get through first. In the end, the boy emerged victorious and he flaunted his win by lazily draping himself in a chair, feet propped up on the desk. The girl had sat behind him, though not before glancing at him with piercing eyes that sent a tremor down his spine. 

One by one, more students, skin of all shades filed into the room. They’d seemed to fit in seamlessly, like interlacing fingers, as they exchanged introductions. 

He felt like an onlooker, an outsider, yet there was the sensation that eyes were on him. Scrutinizing and observing. He paid careful attention to their names and faces, his eyes following each person but never looking into theirs.

Roy, and Emilia. They were twins.

Ghala. She was the daughter of a businessman.

Tyrell. He was the most pleasant of the bunch, not loud nor intimidating.

Carson. He seemed irritable, yet shy.

And finally, Julia. She looked pale. Everything from her hair, her eyes, and her complexion. It was almost pure white.

In his trance, he hadn’t sensed the face that was before him, mere inches from his own with wide eyes peering at him. He flinched, as if struck.

“So what’s your name?”

He froze, unsure of what to say. “Um..Leo. My name is Leo.”

The girl (Julia) bore a smile, stretching her plump cheeks aside to reveal straight teeth. She was suspended in the air, stagnant, yet gravity seemed to have no control over her. She drew away from him, still beaming as her arms and legs spread out like a star. Then, she extended a hand toward him, reaching out with a childish grace.

“It's really nice to meet you Leo!”

A warm giddy feeling unfurled in his chest as he heard those words. Julia’s nature was contagious; he had so bear a fang into his tongue to bite back a mirroring smile.

Even as they left the room that day, that warmth never waned.

He felt welcome.

* * *

  
  


The atmosphere that morning had definitely mellowed down in comparison to yesterday. Idle conversation was shared about the breakfast table. Kazumi, still glued to his mother’s hip, refused to eat any of his food. Ochako lectured him, telling him that veggies were an important part of one’s diet. Katsuki opted not to butt in on the conversation, as he was slightly offended at the prospect of his son disliking his cooking, though he’d rather die than tell a soul.

“Kazu just shut up and eat your vegetables,” Sayuri grumbled, shoving a fork in her mouth. 

“Hey kiddo, don’t talk to your brother like that,” Katsuki reprimanded. Sayuri simply rolled her eyes, scarfing down the final bit of her omelette before getting up and tossing her plate into the sink. The clash of metal against porcelain reverberated through the room as she stormed up the stairs, leaving her tense demeanor behind.

“Eat your damn veggies kiddo,” Katsuki said, ruffling his son’s hair as he went after Sayuri. 

“But Papa, Leo-san didn’t eat veggies, so why do _I_ have to?”

Katsuki froze, staring at his son. He was unsure of what to say, since technically he did bring a valid point. We glanced at Ochako, who raised a curious brow for a fleeting moment before understanding his unspoken request.

“Leo-san can’t eat vegetables, it's bad for his body,” Ochako told him. Kazumi brought his bottom lip between his teeth, his brows furrowed together in deep thought.

“Veggies are bad for my body,” he said triumphantly, as if he’d concocted the best deception. Ochako smiled at him giggling, “No they’re not, baby; Eat them before you get in trouble.”

“M’kay!”

Katsuki had already been up the stairs by then, waiting outside Sayu’s bedroom door. He hesitated before knocking, unsure if she was decent, but after her silence, he opened the door. She was tying her shoes, backpack slung over her shoulder. Her blonde locks were pulled back into a tight pony-tail, as if she’d put all her anger into making it. 

“You okay kiddo?”

She glared at him, silent. After finishing with both her shoes, planting her feet on the ground with a loud thud, she stood up from the bed. Katsuki, unsure of her answer, prodded further.

“Why are you in your school uniform? It's take your kid to work day. You’d just be comin’ with one of us.”

“I’m gonna go with the librarian,” Sayuri answers, adjusting her straps. Katsuki shot her a confused look.

“Whaddya mean?” he asked, “C’mon wouldn’t you wanna spend the day with a hero?”

“Daddy, I’m quirkless,” She deadpanned, despite the pained look in her eyes. Katsuki’s stomach fell to his shoes, the blood rushing with it. This week was gonna be all guilt, wasn’t it. The two remained silent for some time, Katsuki’s gaze lingering on his daughter as her’s was geared toward the ground.

“Well, you could go with Gear He- I mean Hatsume-san. Would be a hell of a lot better than sitting around with a fuckin’ book nerd all day,” He said finally, trying his best to lighten the sour mood. 

Sayu looked up at her father, chewing her lip. All of his children had inherited that endearing nervous tick from their mother, and he could not help but smile. Sayuri nodded to his suggestion, taking his hand as they strode out the door.

Though even after Sayuri had gone into the lab with that Gearheaded freak, a look of utter wonder plastered on her face, that existential and persistent guilt would gnaw at him for the entirety of the day.

* * *

By the time Katsuki had reached the agency, he was greeted by Deku, a mountain of paperwork and the pleasant surprise of a box of spicy chocolates. His friend looked absolutely lethargic, his stature spilling over the end of the desk.

"Kacchan," he whined, tilting his face up.

"Fuck no, I'm not helping you out nerd. You're on your own," Katsuki said, plopping down in a chair and scrolling through his phone. 

"What'cha working on?" he asked, Deku averted his attention from his notes.

"Oh you know that lab that was found? The one with Dr. Monozuki? Well they're tasking me with finding it," He explained, followed by an exhausted groan. "I have no leads or anything though! They intentionally blew up the laboratory, so I can't find any information. I even asked Ochako if she knew anything and she said no."

"Oh you mean that villain doctor, right?" Deku nodded. 

"Fucking coward," Katsuki muttered, though Deku gave him an assuring look.

"Its not all that bad. We have a _huge_ piece of information on him," he said, shuffling through the various assortments of papers. He lay a stapled packet of no more than three to four sheets before them both, positioned in a way so that they could read it together. Katsuki craned his neck to get a better view of the papers. On closer inspection, it appears to be an interrogation account.

"We ended up finding someone in the rubble who knew Monozuki personally. They admitted that he was the person responsible for creating the Nomu."

Katsuki gaped at his friend, "You're shitting me right?"

Deku's silence spoke volumes. He presented the file to Katsuki, urging him to read the entirety of it. Taking the documents, he skimmed through them briefly, seeing as a majority of the interrogation was filled with the usual villan-esqe banter largely composed of sassy remarks and monologues. He presented little to no information at all, save for what Deku had told him. Until the final page:

"I would kill anyone or anything. I'd break anything and anyone. Just for him."

Katsuki handed Deku the file, leaning back in his chair as the two drew quiet, the only discernable noise was the strokes of Deku's pen against paper and the flipping of pages. Muttering began to escape from his lips, and Katsuki, used to his antics, merely pulled out his hearing aids and opened Leo's notebook to keep reading. 

He'd made progress while he was on the train with Sayuri. His recent entries had been awfully mundane, compared to the rest, were mundane. He'd written about celebrating Halloween for the first time by reading Edgar Allan Poe with Lucille and delving into the other novels left behind by his teacher. Later, he'd had a tooth removed for a cavity, thankfully sparing him from the pain with anesthesia. After that excursion though, it had been relatively quiet; he had been left alone for some time.

_**11/7/40** _

_Today's events were very sudden. Me and others in the lab were summoned by the doctor's assistant. I do not know his name. He had us stand in a line and called us each out by number. He told us we were being selected. He told us to run, and we ran. Anyone who did not was shot and killed. He would ask if we were healthy or ill, and those who were not were killed. The elderly were also killed. The assistant had us in a line again, and he looked at us from head to toe. I was next to the girl from the dentist. She was shaking. The assistant stood in front of her and shot her in the head. I kept my eyes foreward when the man came to me. I will never forget the words he told me:_

_"I would kill you if the doctor didn't need you so much."_

_I cant sleep tonight. I can still smell the blood._

**_11/13/17_ **

_I have become ~~careful~~ wary of the doctor's assistant. He hear his footsteps in the hallways. When I see the doctor, he is watching me behind the curtains with hungry eyes. He has a scent that I cannot put into words. He scares me. He looks like he wants to kill me, especially around the doctor._

**_11/15/17_ **

_I always see the assistant bothering the doctor by touching him or asking questions. The doctor does not seem bothered by it, which is strange. If I ever tried to do something like that, I would be punished._

_I wonder what he means to the doctor._

**_11/17/40_ **

_Lucille returned today. We read together after studying and he showed me the places he had been to. I want to travel the world like him, but i know that is wishful thinking_

Katsuki glanced back at Deku, whose eyes were still glued to the paper, etching in his own annotations as he viewed them. The entries in Leo’s journal begged him to keep their secret tight-lipped, as it had meant to be, yet Katsuki was almost certain that the man bound in a chair floors below them was the assistant that had instilled such a fear in that young child. He thought of the shooting, the killing. Deepin his heart, he cared not about the case. He demanded answers for the many questions he had. 

“Deku,” he began with a snarl, gripping the leather of the book as he shut it. Deku perked up, though upon seeing his friend’s expression, his features molded into something akin to worry.

“Yeah?”

 **“** We’re gonna go see that mother fucker in the basement,” Katsuki announced, rising from his chair. Deku shot up to go chase him, to tell him otherwise, but his attempt was rendered futile as Katsuki planted a foot on the wood of the door and kicked it open. Even as they sprinted for the the elevator, Deku had tried to protest against him but they were rendered incoherent stutters of ‘wait’ or ‘Kacchan’. Katsuki, upon entering, opened the panel that guarded the basement level. He dialed in a series of numbers, only for it to fail. 

“God _damnit_ ,” he seethed, punching in more numbers, though to no avail. Deku, with a roll of his eyes, shoved his friend aside, dialing the correct input that opened the shutter for the button that would lead them to the basement. He pressed a finger to the button, and with a flicker of the overhead light, the two began their descent.

“Kacchan, do you mind explaining to me what this is about?” Deku pried, his palpable apprehension evident on his features. Katsuki looked him in the eye, a strangely calm gaze as the sliding doors of the elevator parted, like curtains, giving them passage. As they approached the entrance of the hall of prisoners, Katsuki snatched his friend’s hand and placed it upon the key-reader. A strange, bright green light ran over Deku’s palm for a fleeting moment before the doors to the hallway made way for them.

Inside, on each wall, were doors. Dozens and dozens of doors that stretched the length of the hall. They were indiscernible from one another, each welded from the same cool iron. The only difference between them were the plaques on each door, labelling every prisoner that was inside. 

“Deku, whats this bastard’s name?”

There was a pause before Deku answered him, as if he hesitated. “Yorishiro Takahashi. So he’s the last door on the left.”

Katsuki brought his pace to a brisk jog, the doors at his sides becoming no more than a blur as he ran for Takahashi’s. Finally, there it was: the last door on the left, Yorishiro Takahashi. His name was plastered on the front in neat _kanji_ , calling to him. Katsuki twisted the cylindrical knob of the door, revealing a boy. True to Leo’s word, he was scrawny and thin. Had the boy not said that he was a man, Katsuki would have thought the prisoner before him was still a teen. He had shaggy locks that rivaled Mr. Aizawa, though they likely stood out because of the undercut on the man’s head. Pitch black irises, so dark and so dead, bore into Katsuki as a smile stretched across his face.

“Deku-san! Back so soon? And it seems you’ve brought a friend,” his voice was like velvet, almost singing his words.

“You’re not talking to that shitty nerd,” Katsuki snapped, “you only have business with me.”

Katsuki pulled Leo’s notebook out from his back pocket, unravelling the leather and opening to the first page, facing it at Takahashi who scrutinized it with a confused stare.

“You know who this is?”

Takahashi remained silent for a moment, squinting at the page in the darkness. “Oh! 037--everyone called him ‘the doctor’s plaything’. ‘Zuki _never_ let anyone else touch him. I never liked him. He always took my time with ‘Zuki.”

“I didn’t ask for how you felt about him, I asked for who the fuck he was. Why is he important?” Katsuki said, inching the book closer. Takahashi simply gave him an unamused eyes roll, coupled with a sigh.

“I _told_ you, he’s the doctor’s plaything. He was like a dummy. Zuki always used him for experiments, money, whatever.”

“So a slave?” Kastuki ground out. His jaw was taut, grinding, threatening to break as he spoke. 

“Yes, yes! A slave! That boy was only good for two things: killing and being ‘Zuki’s experiment. We got to do whatever we wanted to that thing as long as we didn’t kill him,” he answered. The sickening, pleasurable grin that spread across Takahashi’s face--one that bore all his teeth and crinkled his eyes--pooled dread in Katsuki’s stomach. 

“What about those killings, huh? The one’s where you lined people up and shot them all down.” Katsuki asked. This is why he was here. He’d get his answer, a satisfactory one, and then leave to his family…

“Oh you must mean the selections. Sadly I wasn’t allowed to kill him there. Wait--why are you asking about him anyways? Did he die in the rubble? Good riddance if he did!”

“I’m not asking about Leo anymore bastard, I’m asking about the selection.”

“Oh so he has a name now? Wow I didn’t think he’d have it in him. He really was trying to become a man..”

“JUST ANSWER ABOUT THE FUCKING SELECTION,” Katsuki snapped, his fuse just short of lighting. Takahashi’s features visibly slackened as he craned his neck to meet Katsuki’s eye.

“The selections were meant to kill the weak, the old and the sick, since they wouldn’t be useful,” he supplemented. Yet in that same moment, the same gut wrenching grin emerged again. “I got to kill whomever I liked though! They were all quirkless anyway, useless to society, so it didn’t matter who died. Just as long as I didn’t kill ‘Zuki’s plaything!”

Katsuki looked back at Deku, whose face was blanched white as an expression of utter horror donned his features. He thought of his friend, the hell he had lived and--

Sayuri. _Sayuri_. His own flesh and blood, his love, his life, his baby girl. He thought of her in those lines, waiting to die. If she had been in that place...

In that moment, something--whether his patience, his sanity, his anger--snapped. His vision swarmed, he could only see red. Every other feature of the room was no more than a blur as Takahashi’s gaze bore into his own. Whatever drove Katsuki, the devil that slumbered in his mind, whispered curses in his ear. In that instant, Katsuki’s fingers curled around the hem of Takahashi’s shirt and he began to squeeze. He wanted to inflict that same suffering, that same fear, that same pain onto this man.

Katsuki’s fist rose, striking Takahashi’s face. He beat him over, and over, and over again. Until blood drew from his knuckles. Until a blood curdling scream had torn from his lips repeating a mantra of ‘YOU BASTARD’ as he struck the scrawny man before him. Until, like a movie, every fear played in his mind, boiling into the anger that detonated on that man. 

“KACCHAN STOP!” Deku shrieked, hooking his arms through his friend’s shoulders, pulling his writing and flailing form off of Takahashi. 

“DEKU PUT ME DOWN! I’M NOT DONE WITH THIS FUCKER!” Katsuki screamed, his voice breaking as he struggled for footing. “PUT ME DOWN”

Before Katsuki could trigger an explosion, Deku invoked his quirk and made a mad dash for the elevator, pining Katsuki against the wall before he could break free of the sliding doors.

“Kacchan,” He began, bracing Katsuki’s shoulders, “you _need_ to calm down. Please--”

“DEKU YOU FUCKER I STILL HAD SHIT I NEEDED TO SAY!”

“No Katsuki. No you didn’t. Now calm down before I--”

“DEKU I NEED TO GO DOWN--,” Katsuki’s sentence was cut short as Deku raised his arm, a swift strike to the neck. His vision clouded, and in mere seconds, he saw black.

* * *

Sayuri waited for nearly an hour at Hatsume’s agency. In the lobby chairs, she sat staring at the ceiling, spacing out to wear her impatience away as she thought of the gadgets Hatsume had shown her. 

“Hey Sayu!” a voice greeted her. She adjusted her vision to see Uncle Deku hovering over her with a smile. “I came to pick you up.”

Sayuri rose from her chair, gathering her belongings and shoving them into her backpack before swinging it over her shoulder. She looked up to see Uncle Deku carrying her father’s sleeping form on his back.

“What happened to daddy?” she asked, a brow raised.

Uncle Deku chuckled, “Oh he threw a temper tantrum at work so I had to knock him out. He’s okay though!”

Uncle Deku offered her his hand, his marred skin smoothing into her palm as he led her out the door. She wondered where he’d gotten those scars. From fighting perhaps? Uncle Deku stopped abruptly, leaning her father’s weight into one arm as he pulled out his cellphone. He scrolled about for a moment before putting the phone to his ear.

“Hey ‘Chako!” so he was calling her mother. “I just picked up Sayuri and I’m gonna head over to your place.”

She gave a muffled response that Sayuri could not hear. 

“Yeah..Kacchan threw a temper tantrum so I had to knock him out. I have him with me right now so I was gonna drop the two of you off.”

There was a pause, followed by Uncle Deku’s slackening expression, “I don’t know what it was about. He was fighting about some sort of case. I assure you he’s okay.”

Sayuri stared back at her father as Uncle Deku bidded her mother good-bye. He drew her close with a strong arm, invoking his quirk--one that she loved to see-- to soar from building to building. The wind carded through her hair as they whirred past the innermost heart of the city. The lights were no more than streaks in her vision, blurring together into one spectrum as they jumped from building to building, atop towers and houses, past the streets filled with hundreds of civilians. They were in the clouds, a deep gray that foreshadowed rain. Sayuri felt a feather-light touch of water on her cheek, yet when she looked to the sky, the rain was not of the sky.

Uncle Deku was crying. His tears were washed away by the wind that hit his face, though they only landed on hers. His eyes looked to the route straight ahead of them, never anywhere else until they had landed at the doorstep. Setting Sayuri down, he twisted the knob of their front door, opening it. He gestured her inside, mumbling a soft ‘ladies first’ before he followed her inside. The two waved hello to Ochako, who was sat in the living area teaching Kazumi hiragana, before ascending the stairway to her parents’ bedroom. With great care, Uncle Deku lay her father atop the mattress, tucking him under the covers like a young child.

“Bye Sayu, I have to go work! I’ll see you soon though!” he said, enveloping her in a hug before leaving moments later.

Sayuri watched over her sleeping father, kneeling beside him and resting her head in the crook of her elbow as she took in his calm features. He was always tense, so such an expression was new to her, though not unwelcome. 

In the silence of the room, she too fell asleep, still kneeling beside him .

* * *

Katsuki awoke in his bed. His daughter, asleep at his bedside, kneeling with her head buried in her arms as she waited for him. He reached out, taking her dainty, small, fragile hands in his own as he caressed her palms with his thumbs. Her touch was strangely cold, sending a tremor through Katsuki. He could only think of his daughter’s hands, absent from his own and trembling as the barrel of a gun was pressed against her skull. How she fell when the trigger was pulled, her eyes void as she seized in a pool of her own blood.

He took his daughter’s sleeping form in his arms, and wept.

* * *

“Hey Leo!”

Leo perked to the voice that called to him: it was Tyrell. He wore the black school uniform, carrying the cap idly in his hand as he approached Leo. 

“Wanna be my chess partner?” he asked. Leo nodded slowly, thus Tyrell sat in the chair across from him. 

“Have you ever played chess?” Leo shook his head as a strange heat enveloped his cheeks. Tyrell simply gave him a lopsided grin as he adjusted his round spectacles. 

“Hey it’s ‘aight, I’ll teach you,” he said, taking what Leo later found out was a pawn. Tyrell told him of all the pieces and what they were for, what they could do. It seemed that the objective of the game was to take the king of the other player. 

Later, the two went for a practice round. Leo found that he was still unsure of how to play the game, but Tyrell assured him that it was fine, that he would teach him.

Tyrell reminded Leo much of Lucille from his time in the laboratory. Kind, patient and caring. He waited for Leo to understand before they moved on to the next lesson. Soon Leo found himself enjoying this game. He was having fun. 

A ghost of a smile tugged at his lips, but Tyrell must have seen it, as he responded in kind. They’d spent most of the period in silence, Tyrell eliciting a confused ‘WHAT?’ or ‘HOW??’ on alternating rounds. Leo had lost most of the games they played, but he did not complain for at the end of their class Tyrell had asked:

“You wanna eat lunch with me?”

Leo nodded eagerly.

It was nice to have a friend.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also ik the 'mystery' (if there even is one lol) aspect is pretty obvious at this point, but that's kind of the point. Leo's book is supposed to make it very apparent and he expresses so later on :D
> 
> Yorishiro is the person that's shiny and dumb and easy to trick and the reason why interrogating him was so time consuming was because he would talk about how much he loved the doctor. 
> 
> Aaaaanywho, we have like 5-ish chapters till the time skip so buckle up boys :D

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so the ages in this fic are as follows
> 
> Leo: 15 at the present, 12 in his diary. 23 after time skip  
> Katsuki and everyone else in 1A are around 29-30. 36 after time skip.  
> Hideki Bakugo: 8 years old, 15 after time skip  
> Sayuri Bakugo: 7 years old, 14 after time skip  
> Kazumi Bakugo: 3 years old, 7 after time skip


End file.
